Six Degrees of Suffering
by The Hexagon
Summary: A prisoner from another planet suddenly appears in the middle of Equestria's civil war. Confused, afraid and unarmed, he desperately tries to survive.
1. The First Degree of Suffering, Prologue

"Death isn't an event in life: we do not live for us the experience death."

\- Ludwig Wittgenstein

(Warning! Slightly detailed scenes of cannibalism, torture, abuse and mention of suicide and rape is present in this chapter. It is unavoidable, and will be present every step of the way. If you don't like the aforementioned scenes, please don't read the chapter. It's that simple.)

o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Six weeks ago, the country where I lived was attacked. Women were raped. Children were abducted, and able bodied males aged above fifteen years old were forced into work camps. I, myself, was working in those hellish camps. Working for an organization that calls themselves as the Resistance, they claimed to 'rid of the monsters that control humanity itself'.

I scoffed at that. They aim to rid humanity of the monsters, yet not knowing that they were the monsters themselves.

Today, I and a large group of workers, varying from sixteen to sixty in years of age, were tasked to carry newly mined minerals back to their factories. There, they purify said minerals, and sell them for profit, which in turn powers their workforce.

I grunted heavily as I carried the bag of assorted ores and metal above my head. I was sweating heavily, and my arms were ready to give away, due to fatigue. It was unbearably hot, mostly because of the smoke coming out of the ground. We were directly on the side of a volcano, and the hot steam it produced was shooting out from the cracks on the surface. The air was almost unbreathable, it was too smoky to even inhale deeply.

"Move your lazy ass, kid!" The person watching us shouted in anger. I looked up and felt fear. Thinking it was me that did something wrong, I awaited my judgement, and closed my eyes. I kept going, however. I went faster than my usual pace, trying not to trip over the hot, igneous rocks that the volcano was made out of.

A minute passed, and nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked around. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't me that angered our guards. But that meant that someone else was enraging the guards.

I looked to my left, and saw a young boy, possibly the age of sixteen, which was slowing down his pace due to exhaustion. He was struggling to keep the bag over his head, his body was shaking violently, and he had tears running down his face. He was literally wearing a sack for clothing, and was bare footed.

Well, we all were.

Parts of his body was blackened due to ashes and burns, and wounds were scattered all over his body. Bruises from beatings can also be seen, from behind the black ashes. Surely, this kid has been abused repeatedly by the guards. They even called him Runty, due to his height. He was 4"9, and very thin. He coughed heavily due to the smoke, and was moving at a snails pace, taking one step at a time.

Our guards did not accept of his speed, however. Did not care for his well-being, too. One guard started to mock him, and after that, two more joined in. The kid, however, ignored the howls of the officers and continued to move.

"Hey, Runty!" I heard a voice from my right. I turned my head to the direction from where the voice came, and saw an officer with a rock on his hand. He tossed the rock a few times, before shouting, "Catch!" He shouted, throwing the rock as hard as he could towards the poor child.

The rock hit his head hardly, causing him to fall down to the ground, dropping all the ores he was carrying and making them scatter all across the ground. The guards were all laughing heartily at the child, which stayed limp, lying on the ground. He wept silently, and apparently, it was too much for me. The others stopped, and stared at the poor child. Apparently, they could no nothing. Anyone who would even do so much as go to the kid would get beaten up.

Well, I wasn't afraid anyways.

"Hey, assholes!" I shouted, causing most of the officers' attention to go to me. I dropped my bag, and grabbed a handful of fist-sized ore. "Stop harassing that poor kid!" I shouted, before throwing a piece of metal at a guard, standing beside the pitiful child.

The guards immediately took cover from my missiles, and avoided the incoming ore. "Get that idiot!" A guard shouted, before ordering everyone back to work.

Continuing my assault, I bent down to grab more ore to throw, but I was then tackled by a guard before I could even touch one piece. I grabbed an ore, and slammed it on the head of the officer. He immediately went limp on top of me, enabling me to push him off me. Before I could even stand up, a group of guards went around me, and started to kick me continuously.

I grunted, and winced in pain. Secretly, I hid the piece of ore on a pocket sewn into my rags.

One officer then kicked me hard on my stomach, making me cough in pain. I became weak, and never bothered to stop them. Pain seared from everywhere in my body, and they still continued to kick the shit out of me.

Of course, no one bothered to help me. They would get the same fate, if they interfered. All they could do is watch, and pass by.

After a few minutes of continuous kicking, a single hard kick to my face ended the torture, leaving me disoriented and in pain. I rolled to my side, resting on my left shoulder as I moved my hand to my face, checking to see if there was any broken bones, open wounds, or any bruises. A pool of warm liquid caught my attention, it was forming just below my face. I swiped my index and my middle finger on the pool, before moving my fingers just in front of my face.

'Hm, blood.' I thought, remembering a memory I had experienced not too long ago.

I stared at my bloody fingers for an unknown amount of time, before coughing heavily. More blood sputtered out of my mouth, spraying them to the rock in front of me. I then lied on my back, blood was running down my face, originating from my nose.

My vision then blurred, and another pain shot from my stomach.

"This is what we do to who would even dare to betray the Resistance!" The officer said, walking around me, flaring his arms out, as if he is trying to impress others. "If anyone wants to join this idiot," he said, before placing a boot on my head. "This, low-life," he hissed, stepping harder into the side of my face. I then grunted, and screamed, unable to take the pain he was giving me. He then removed his boot, and stepped back from me. "Then be my guest!"

He ran forward, raised his left foot backwards like he was trying to kick a ball, and smiled. Kicking as hard as he could, I felt no pain at all as the boot collided with my face.

All I knew next, was that I blacked out. Sweet relieve entered my mine as darkness finally consumed me, giving me a slight reprieve from the hellish world I call home.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Agh!" I yelled, my body quickly jolting upwards as I awoke from my slumber. My eyes opened almost immediately after I sat upright, causing the bright sunlight to immediately harass my unadjusted eyes. By reflex, I raised a hand to cover my eyes as it tried to adjust itself to the light, and after a few minutes, it was able to tolerate the light again.

'Damn, I must've been out for a long time.' I thought.

I held my head, pain still wreaking from my cranium. I then shook it off, and decided to scan the environment around me, because I'm sure as hell that this ain't the volcano anymore. Even with my vision still blurry, I can still make out faint outlines of the objects around me.

It seemed like the guards tossed me out and left me to die in a forest all alone. Apparently, it was a dark forest, no light could be seen penetrating the thick foliage above me...well, except for the little hole that gave me the stray ray of light. Other than that, the forest was completely dark, illuminated only by a faint green light, the only light strong enough to pass through the dense cover.

It seemed that I had ended in a small clearing, with not one path in sight. I sighed, and decided to walk in a straight line. I ignored the ripped, squalid sack that I call my clothing as it snagged into branches. I kept walking.

And walking..

And walking...

An hour later, and I began to feel the effects of thirst and fatigue. Well, not just thirst. It was dehydration. Back in those labour camps, they only gave us half a bottle of water and a plateful of slop they call 'food'...if you're lucky.

In some(most) cases, they don't even bother to stand up and do their jobs, like feeding the prisoners. They just sit in their comfortable seats, sometimes even sleep. Those lazy asses never cared for us. They showed no mercy, no pity, and no remorse.

They'd sap a man of his strength, until all what's left of him was a sad, empty husk. A carcass devoid of feeling and happiness. A man that had lost hope, who's only real goal in life is to end their suffering.

Yes, many people tried to end their lives inside those prison camps. Some tried to hang themselves. Some preferred to cut their neck, or their wrists. But, the most preferable one is to drive a knife, or any pointy object through their own skull. It's silent, and it's painless.

The only challenge is: if you had the will to do it.

Now, in those camps, we would know if someone had successfully killed themselves. Because everytime someone ends their own life, the guards would mock us. They would place one of his own body parts sitting right next to your own food.

Sometimes, they would take a random prisoner in front of them, and force him to eat whatever remained on his fellow prisoner.

It was simple. Eat the entire carcass, from flesh to muscle, and you get out, unscathed. Refusing to eat it, or not finishing it, however, will get you beaten up, or sometimes shot dead, for the next prisoner to feed on.

It was sick, and the officers loved it.

They'd bet on it, guffawing their hearts out as they would watch a human being consume another.

I shuddered at the thought; an old memory surfaced just as I remembered those times. Two months ago, I was chosen for the sick ritual.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Come on, Johnson!"

The cacophony of yells from the officers filled my ears, as they encouraged me to eat the dead child lying in front of me. The body was still fresh, apparently. Blood could seen be seen gushing out from his small wounds. I flinched, as the smell immediately found its way into my nostrils.

"Come on, we don't have all day!" One of the officers shouted in impatience, before taking a swig from his beer.

"Yeah, I'll give you ten seconds before I blast your tiny head off from your neck!" An officer shouted, before taking a pistol from his holster.

"One..."

I looked down at the corpse, and immediately gagged. I couldn't even eat undercooked meat, let alone a raw carcass from a young man.

"Two..."

Tears began to slowly form at the side of my eyes, and I knelt down on one knee, then on two. I took deep breaths, and looked at the body. It was getting pale, and the bottom was getting blue. "Come on! Your meal's getting cold!" An officer cackled, holding his stomach as he laughed.

"Eight..."

I blinked, and looked at the officer with the gun. He was already standing, and pointing at the weapon toward me.

"Nine..."

"He's not gonna do it, I tell you," I heard an officer speak. "Might as well give me that ten helmes." He said, persuading his fellow guard to give him the money.

"Ten--"

I immediately bit into the man's hand, tears running down my cheeks as I took rubbery, bitter flesh from his finger.

The officers cheered, and laughed at my torture. They kept encouraging me, some even placed a beer bottle beside be, so I could swallow down the flesh. I refused.

Piece by piece, bit by bit, I began to eat. The flesh was hard, and cold. My face was bloody, it looked like I was some sort of zombie if you could see me.

During the entire time, I wept. Ignoring the taste, I kept eating, and telling myself that it was going to be alright. After I've eaten the entire right arm, I moved to the left.

Biting on the finger once again, I slowly made my way through the arm, before moving to the leg.

The officers cheered at the grotesque and horrifying scene. They counted their helmes, which was the currency in my country, and drank their beer. Some even took pictures of me. They kept offering me beer, I kept refusing.

I began to move to the body. I began to bite in the waist, but to no avail. It was extremely hard.

"Awh, can't take a bite?" The officers said, before standing up, and taking a knife.

I looked at him fearfully. 'This is it,' I told myself. 'I'm going to die, and that last thing I had done was eat a person.' More tears then fell down my bloodied cheeks. 'Like a cannibal.'

I expected him to raise his knife and end my life, and call another prisoner to feed on my remains. I then looked at the body, feeling his chest, which had ribs sticking out. 'Like me and him.'

But, I then saw the handle of the knife being handed out to me. "Come on, just a little something to help you eat." He smiled widely, like a sick murderer taking pleasure from his kill. Well, they were already like that.

I hesitantly took the knife, and decided if I should charge at the officers with the knife. I then looked at them, and saw that they had their weapons taken out. It seems that they had already thought of the contingency.

I drove the knife through the stomach, and took out a large, square piece of flesh. I stared at the piece, the cheers of encouragement from the officers drowning my thoughts.

I couldn't take it any longer.

I stood up, and threw the piece of flesh at the officers. With a loud cry, I took the knife, and charged towards the guard.

I lunged forward, my knife headed directly to a nearby officer's neck. I tackled him, and drove him to the ground. I raised my knife, and smiled at the officer.

Before I could even hit him, however, I was suddenly disarmed by another guard from behind me, and I was then knocked out.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I shivered, the air around me was getting colder. I rubbed on my shoulders, trying to heat them as much as possible. I exhaled, a jet of blue mist coming out of my mouth.

I began to move slower and slower. Huffing, I panted heavily. I was becoming disorientated and weak. Hunger, starvation and abuse took it's toll on my body. Taking my last few steps, I reached out a hand forward, like I was trying to reach an imaginary goal.

I fell down to the ground, and slowly lost my strength. I let out a light chuckle, which turned into a fit of coughs. I let out a relieved exhale, finally, I was free.

The last thing I saw was a black silhouette of a small horse, bending down to look me in the eyes before I fully lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 1

I only saw pitch black.

I tried to move, yet, I was chained to a chair. My wrists and legs were shackled, and I could tell that I was blindfolded.

Wait, I've been here before.

After realizing where I was, I started to panic and tried to pull my hands off my shackles. I began to breath heavily, and sweat profusely. A small shock to my wrists then alerted me to what was to come.

Not even a few seconds had passed, before a massive jolt of electricity surged across my body. I screamed, my limbs shaking violently as I endured the electric chair.

A few minutes had passed, before the current stopped. I huffed, and huffed. My heart was beating wildly, and cold sweat was running down my face.

Another short shock, then a long shock followed.

"Gyaaaah!" I shouted in pain, my back arching as I tried to resist the pain once more, yet, it was futile. I went limp, unable to endure the large amounts of electricity being pumped to my body.

After another few minutes later, it stopped, and I felt weak. I had cold sweat, and I was light headed.

A sharp pain suddenly surface in my right cheek, and with a massive jolt sent to my body...

I woke up.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Pain suddenly attacked me from every part of my body, especially on my chest.

My eyes quickly shot wide open, and I shortly felt winded. I quickly sat upright, my lungs burning with pain everytime I coughed.

Slamming a fist to my bare chest quickly relieved some of the pain, and made me breath in relief. Quickly taking large gulps of air, the burning sensation in my lungs quickly subsided.

I then blinked twice, trying to clear the fog clouding my vision. I rubbed my eyes, and blinked once again. It seems that I have been taken into a small cave, filled with jars and various objects. A large cauldron on top of a large, burning fire sat on the middle of the cave, the liquid inside was bubbling loudly. On the farthest side, however is...

The pain suddenly shot from my stomach, quickly reminding me how hungry I was. I was also definitely parched, and that basket of fruits and water did not help me alleviate my cravings. Quickly moving, I immediately went to the basket as filled my stomach with every morsel I could get, and quench my thirst with every drop of water I could have. With my ravenous appetite, I quickly emptied the basket, but it did not satisfy me completely.

Wiping my mouth with my own arm, I began to scan the cave I landed inside again. 'Did I land in the middle of some witch cave or something?' I asked myself, looking around. There was nobody here, giving me an opening for escape.

Now, I was met with a decision that may decide if I should either live, or die. Should I escape while I still have the chance, or stay here and hope for the best?

My eyes moved to the exit of the cave. It was obviously night, and I could even hear the pitter-patter of rain outside the cave.

I then turned to the cauldron. It has a thick bubbling yellow liquid inside which glowed brightly in unison with the candlelight in the cave, making me curious. I took two small flasks and filled them with the liquid in the cauldron. I then took a small container and placed it on my pocket, along with the two flasks. The soft glow was masked by my clothing, making me sigh in relief. Oh, thank fuck that I don't have to worry about the flasks revealing my cover.

Who knows, maybe this liquid might be useful. It could be poison, or a healing potion.

Not wanting to wait any longer, I dashed out the cave as fast as I could, and continued on a straight line. Due to the rain, I could barely see. It didn't help that it was night, too.

Thunder struck around me. The rain was getting stronger and stronger.

I passed tree after tree after tree, never stopping. I nearly tripped once or twice, but I still continued my way. Turning left, then right, then left again. I was desperate to escape this forest, which was already playing tricks on my eyes.

Sometimes, trees would move around. Branches would twist. The feeling where someone is currently watching you. It was maddening.

I was then met with a large river. I quickly tried to stop, trying to halt before I get thrown into the water. My feet sliding across the muddy floor, I braced myself as I expected to go down to the water. My feet gradually slowing down, I stopped as I reached the edge of the riverbank. I let out a sigh of relief, before backing away slowly.

"A goddamned river," I said in annoyance. "Why the hell does it have to be a goddamned river?!"

Admittedly, I never knew how to swim. I never actually swam, because of the fact that I always sink downwards like an anchor whenever I do.

I screamed in frustration, and threw a rock on the river in front of me. I began to walk along the riverbank, hoping that I may find a bridge, or something like that.

Suddenly, in the midst of light rain, I heard a twig snap behind me. I looked back, trying to make sure I wasn't followed, before continuing my way.

I then came across a large carcass, half of its body lying down on the river bank. The stench was revolting, but the sight was even more gruesome. It looked like a sea serpent, but...larger. It's meat was rotting, and maggots inhabited what was left inside. Large, bubbles made out of meat and gas filled the insides of the body. Beside it's skull, a few strands of brown and purple hair rested on the ground, slowly getting washed away by the mud and rain.

Using this as a bridge crossed my mind, but I quickly brushed the thought aside. It's a fucking carcass. Stepping on that will just make the skeleton collapse, and lead to my demise.

I could somehow hold on to that body as I move across the river, though. Assuming that it's long enough to reach the other side.

I only then noticed that it already has stopped raining. I looked around, the visibility still poor. Turning my attention back to the carcass, I went to the skull of the body, and grabbed hold of the eye sockets.

Ignoring the stench, I pulled. Grunting in irritation, I never could seem to budge the body, let alone move it. Giving it another try, I pulled as hard as I could. Thankfully it had slightly budged, vines and other things that may have locked the carcass to the ground had snapped, allowing me to freely move the body.

I had then just realized, that the bubbles, were the ones that locked the body to the ground. After I moved the body, the bubbles popped, releasing putrid red gas all around the carcass. I fanned the front of my face, coughing as I inhaled the foul smelling gas.

It smelled like shit! I ran away, waiting for the gas to subside before I could continue working on the carcass. I began to sit down beside one of the trees, the smell still stuck in my nostrils.

As I sat down, I felt a rock poke my unprotected posterior, and made me stand in reflex. I looked down from where I sat, and one, placed just underneath where I sat. I removed the rock, and sat down once again. And again, I felt the exact same thing. Quickly realising the objects in my pocket, I began to reach for the ore that I sneakily took in the camps.

I grabbed hold of the ore, and fished it out of my pocket. I took a closer look at the clump of rock and soil, and asked myself, 'Why the hell does the Resistance want us to mine this?' I turned the rock, and looked at it on its other side. 'It looks like a normal rock.'

Suddenly, the rock began to glow. Small green faults began to appear on the ore, glowing softly as I held it. 'What the?' I mouthed, rather confused and amazed by the display this rock showed.

I then heard a neigh behind me. I quickly pocketed the rock, and hid. I peeked from behind the tree, and saw a zebra, two horses, and a...unicorn?

I raised a brow. 'A fucking unicorn?' I quickly pulled back, and hid. 'Am I still even on Xinlieu?' I asked myself. I only then noticed, that the ore on my pocket glowed even more brighter and brighter.

Shit..shit..shit! What the hell should I do?

I looked around, trying to find an object that could help me. I found the rock. I reached for the rock, and threw it as hard as I could into the forest. I don't know what the rock hit, or who, because I heard a branch snap after I threw the rock, and a grunt sounded after.

The group suddenly faced the direction where I threw the rock, and ran towards the fallen branch. The rock's glow then petered out, as the group gradually increased their distance from me.

As the rock completely lost its glow, I hastily began to grab it from my pocket. I eyed the rock closely, trying to find where the green lines were. Nothing.

I then realized, if I'm not on Xinlieu anymore, then I finally got out! My eyes began to well with tears. Finally, I had escaped those gruesome work camps! I would never endure such torture no more!

I jumped in joy, and went giddy with excitement.

It was then that I had noticed, I was still holding the ore in my hands. 'I wonder if I could remove the dirt stuck around the ore..' I thought, before turning towards the river.

I then went to the river, and knelt down, and washed the rock. I tried to remove the dirt and impurities encasing it, but to little avail. Only a few grains of rock washed away. Cursing in frustration, I washed the rock once again, albeit more vigorously. With better luck, I continued to wash the rock, until I saw a small pointed tip protruding from the bottom of the rock.

"Yes!" I cheered, having seen the first glimpse of the ore.

Or, it wasn't an ore at all.

After a few more washes, I finally removed the lower half of the clumped up dirt. It looked like a crystal, and an irregular one at that.

While I was submerging the rock underwater, it began to glow. Pulling it back up, the crystal softly glowed in my hands. I was mesmerized. I stood up, and stared at the crystal in all its glory.

Wait, if the crystal glowed, then...

I quickly broke off from my trance, and looked back. A flash of light soon appeared from the forest, pointing at the gassy carcass, followed by a small explosion. The crystal glowed much brighter, until...

Three unicorns dressed in white robes suddenly appeared from the forest, neighing to each other. They looked nervous, looking around wildly like there was someone hunting them.

The ground shook violently, and a massive ball of fire erupted just behind the unicorns. They jumped in fright, and ran towards me. I quickly went to the river, holding on to the riverbank so as to not drown myself. The unicorns fired their own bolts of light from their horns, trying to repel whoever was attacking them.

Another ball of fire flared up, dangerously close to one of the unicorns. The left unicorn was thrown away, chunks of flesh and bone flung out from it's body. It landed near where I hid, and rolled until it was barely holding on the the riverbank. It's front left hoof was limp, touching the flowing water as blood slowly ran across it's light blue coat. It was lifeless, it's tongue stuck out from it's jaw, and it's eyes were as white as ash. It's right ear was ripped clean off, and it's chest had a large gaping hole, where it's organs slowly pooled out into the muddy ground. Detached parts of his flesh soon followed, most landing on the river, getting washed away.

Staring at the lifeless body, I began to remember the days I was tortured inside the camp. I shuddered, and had a chill run up my spine.

It was February 24th, 2175.

The Resistance had successfully captured our planet, to exploit it of its natural resources. Oil, water, wood, metal.

We had a massive force, not to mention the added forces and vehicles that some space-faring civilizations had generously given us. Heck, even an organization called the 'Hexagon', had built a forward operating base in our planet, promising protection in exchange for their mining privileges. We were an unstoppable force that time, in our star system, I meant.

But hell, I was damned wrong.

The Resistance had came, and with the help of two other organizations, attacked the planet with such brute force, it literally shook the planet. Of course, we retaliated with immense firepower.

But then, with unknown reasons, the Hexagon quickly departed, leaving us to die. We tried to hold our ground, but, they instantly defeated us, as quickly as they arrived.

Using our population, they built work camps for their pleasure, and for our torture. Like I had said earlier, Men were forced to work; able-bodied, sickly, and the elderly alike. Women were taken and became honorary slaves and sex dolls. The pregnant were taken care of, until they had given birth, however. Then they would become slaves again.

The only people that were given proper care were children, which in turn, they manipulated into working for them. Child soldiers were abundant in the planet of Xinlieu.

Resistance members would take children out, and let them torture, and possibly kill their own parents. Indoctrination was the key to their obedience.

I was then shaken out of my thoughts as another explosion erupted, this time it was just in front of me. I gripped tightly on the bank, trying not to fall in the deep river.

"Leave, you mad horses." I spoke under my breath, through gritted teeth.

A couple of terrified neighs sounded shortly afterwards. I peeked at the horses in front of me, and saw that they were on the tip of their hooves, clattering their teeth. The left unicorn neighed, before being engulfed in a bright flash of light, before completely disappearing from sight. The other unicorn followed, disappearing as well in a flash of light.

Just seconds later, one lone horse appeared from the forest. It was wearing some kind of armor, possibly leather. It was also wearing a black metal helmet with covered it's eyes, with three vertical slits that glowed yellow located at the front. It had numerous black, spherical objects which were strapped on its sides, and it looked like it was holding one in its mouth.

Scratch that. It was actually holding a sphere with its mouth. Looking at the spheres, one could say that those were fused grenades. It hooked the sphere back to it's side, and went back into the forest, taking one last look behind him before he disappeared in the dense forest.

I could've sworn it looked at my direction, before it went away. I waited for a few minutes, if there were more horses coming my way. There were none.

"Oh, thank God."

I started to climb up back to solid ground, checking the objects in my pocket just to be sure. Not wasting any more time, I began to pull the giant carcass from the river, only to my annoyance to find out that it was cut in half, serving no purpose to me whatsoever.

Hm, I feel weird in my left leg.

Grunting in disappointment, I kicked the giant carcass. I then exhaled in defeat, and began to seek another path. This world was dangerous; it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

Daylight was breaking in, and I need to find a hiding place fast, lest they might find me wandering about, and possibly capture me.

A thought struck in my mind, and made me go back to where the unicorn corpse was. Taking a few strands of its tail, I fashioned an amulet with the crystal, digging a small hole in the dirt half of the gemstone, and wearing it around my neck. Now, I would know if someone was sneaking up behind me. I smiled at my crude accessory, and went back to the trail I was supposed to go to.

I began to walk much more quicker, turning around and back into the forest. It wasn't a smart idea actually, but it's better than being out there in the open.

I felt weak below my left knee, forcing me to rely on my right leg. I shrugged it off as an effect of fatigue, and continued my way.

I looked around the sights I saw all around me, the lush green leaves, the tall and sturdy trees, and the heavenly rays of light, piercing through the thick foliage of the forest. I then took notice of some flowers, and picked one from its stem.

'Ah, if only Xinlieu were this beautiful before the war,' I thought, before throwing the blight blue flower back to the patch where I saw it grow.

I went in deeper into the forest, feeling chills run through by body as I continued to move deeper, feet by feet.

I repeatedly rubbed my hands and blew on them, a mist of blue fog quickly jetting out of my mouth. I sighed, and rubbed my shoulders instead, shivering my ass off. Even though it was morning, and the sun was currently sitting on its highest peak right now, it was surprisingly cold...well, I think it could be just me. I looked around, some of the small fauna such as squirrels and rat are living perfectly fine, skittering along the branches of the dense thick forest.

"F-fuck, wh-what t-the hell is-s h-happening to m-me?" I asked myself, placing one foot after the other forward, albeit in a slow, unsteady pace. My left leg began to feel numb, and unresponsive. I began to depend on my right leg, and limped my way through the path.

Taking each step seemed to be getting more difficult, every foot I go. It continued like this, until I collapsed for the third time in a row.

Damn, this has got to be some sort of new record.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I slowly regained consciousness, yet once again.

Thankfully, it seemed that I hadn't been moved from where I passed out. I could safely assume that no one saw me...yet. I quickly lifted myself off of the ground, spitting out mud from my mouth, which possibly got in while I slept. I wiped the excess mud from my face, and flicked them off of my hand. I looked up, and saw that the sun had moved from its original position. From what I could tell, I think I passed out for about four or five hours. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I began to stand up, and continue my path.

Another hour later, my condition is worsening and worsening. Hunger and thirst struck me hard.

I reflexively clutched my stomach as it began to growl loudly, causing me to lose my balance. I landed on my right knee, and felt weak all over my body. I looked at my left leg; covered in sores, boils, and wounds that I had never noticed until now.

And suddenly, like a switch suddenly turning on, the sight of my left leg suddenly alarmed my brain, activating the pain receptors on my entire left leg. The feeling in my leg was magically restored, which in turn, made me scream in agonizing pain.

Blabbering like a crying baby, I began to mutter incomprehensible words under my breath, holding my legs before I began to scream again. Looking closer at the boils, I began to see tiny worms wriggling out of my wounds.

A disturbing sight to behold.

Blood instantly drooled out from the holes from where the maggots had emerged. I continued to scream in pain, holding my left leg. I quickly realized, that I had vials of a strange liquid, taken from the cave earlier. I quickly took the flask, and poured a small amount of liquid into the container.

If this is poison, it might as well end my suffering.

I drank the strange brew, the liquid quickly gushing down my throat. It had a sweet taste, and a nice smell, which reminded me of strawberries.

I waited for the potion to take effect. Still clutching my leg in pain, I began to feel lesser pain than before. Delighted, I started to crawl toward a tree, so that I could rest my back. But, as I began to move, the pain quickly increased.

I howled in pain once again, my hands quickly moving to my left leg, causing me to lose balance, causing me to fall to my left...

Which agitated my leg even more.

I began to sweat uncontrollably. I looked back at my leg, and even more worms came out of my leg, falling down the mud after they emerged. They crawled under my skin, which gave me unbearable pain.

"Holy Celestia!" I heard a male voice not far away from me, coming to my right. "Come look at this!"

I could barely move, the pain locked my body, effectively paralyzing me. I heard heavy footsteps coming towards me, which gave me a mix of fear and ease.

I saw a white horse, walking in front of me, looking at my leg. "What the buck?" Listening to the horse's voice baffled me. I thought horses can't talk? It...he immediately heaved behind him, after seeing the gruesome sight. He immediately shouted, "It's got Everfree Parasitic Worms!"

I know, you idiot.

One more horse came to my view, his face suddenly appearing on top of my vision. "Don't worry." According to it's voice, it was a she. She was a unicorn, too. She uttered shushing sounds, while rubbing the side of my neck. "It's all going to be fine."

I struggled, but eventually succeeded to glare at her. 'I'm not some dumb animal, and you're not supposed to be talking!' I shouted mentally.

"I'm going to do something to help you deal with the pain, alright?" She said, lowering her horn, as it glowed brightly between my eyes.

I began to scream mentally once more, praying that she might be able to hear me. She was a unicorn with magical powers, after all. What's to say that she can't read minds as well? 'I ain't going to trust you with your magic horn doohickey there, get me to a damned hospital!--' I began to feel dizzy, and numb.

My vision blurred, and the world began to spin around me.

"Everything's going to be alriiightt~"

The last word was stretched, and the voice became deeper and deeper, until I finally lost consciousness for the fourth time in a row.

I wish that my continuous unconsciousness would have no effect on my brain, though.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Point of View: ?

"My queen, I am but a humble servant standing before ye, to give you this message." I knelt down, excited to tell my queen this extraordinary news.

"Rise." The queen responded selflessly. "What is your message, grenadier?"

The air was tense, everyone in the court room was waiting for me to give the news. I smiled widely, before facing the queen directly eye to eye. Sure, they were expecting someone like me to report something like 'the unicorns have lost their ground', or 'we have successfully captured Fort Hoof.' No, I shall give them news that they would never expect.

"I saw a large, creature strolling in the Everfree, staring at me in fear while I dealt with those Imperials."

"Could you give a much more detailed explanation for this...creature?" The queen asked in bewilderment.

"I'm pretty sure it was a human, your majesty."


End file.
